Bridging the Gap
by Crescent Blue
Summary: Blumiere's life as Count Bleck has burnt bridges and left a trail of damage. Can he find the strength to make the necessary repairs? A story dedicated to LAZLO PIZZAZZALO author of "Odium and Love" and "Darkness and Light". Rated 'M' for themes.


A/N: Hello all! It's my first Super Paper Mario story! This story is a gift for LAZLO PIZZAZZALO. I fell in love in his/her SPM stories and decided to write a little tribute to an amazing fanfic author. I hope that Lazlo (and you all in general) enjoy it!

By the way, if you haven't already, I suggest reading Lazlo's "Odium and Love" and "Darkness and Light" first to get an understanding of my story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Mario and any related characters and content. This is purely for fun and not for profit. I also do not own Noir, Taire, and Gustav. They belong to LAZLO PIZZAZZALO.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It began with a letter. A farewell letter. It was a message with heart-crushing words.

It read:

 _"_ _My son_ _,_

 _I understand and accept that those words may bring a scowl upon your face. That reaction is well-deserved. However, I beg that you hear me out for this final time._

 _I have pondered over my actions these past two years. Our capture at Dimentio's hands has only strengthened the broiling guilt that has brewed within me._

 _I have granted you and Lady Timpani the consent that you so wished for all those years ago, but you hardly needed it. I admit that was a meager attempt to quell the bitter guilt I battled. Lady Timpani shed tears of joy. You stared at me in disbelief._ _Taire showered me with loving approval._

 _But that was still not enough. There is nothing that can ease the tempest raging in my battered heart. I was responsible for Count Bleck's birth and by extension, his horrendous deeds._

 _There is nothing that can bridge the gap between us at this point. I have been a terrible husband and a terrible father. No, worse still, I have been a terrible person._

 _But please do not worry yourself any longer. You need not worry about my actions any longer."_

Blumiere found his mother staring down at this letter with tear soaked cheeks and shaking hands. Beside the grieving Taire, his darling wife Timpani trying her best to console the woman.

The young count implored Taire to explain what had upset her so. The countess had barely heard her son and weakly handed the parchment over.

Blumiere found nearly found himself in the same state of shock. _'That...fool...'_

Noticing that the ink on the page was relatively fresh, the young noble took off in a sprint leaving his beloved wife to care for the tearful lady.

Count Noir Fidele favored symbolism. Where would his father go at a time like this?

 _'The room where I stole the Dark Prognosticus.'_

Making his way rapidly down the long, spiral staircase which led to the lower sanctum, he opened the heavy doors feeling a rush of painful nostalgia take over him. This very room was where he took his first steps into madness. He could've taken his anger out on his father alone, but his emotions were raging against his logic.

A beam of light still streamed down upon the stone pillar where the ill-fated tome once rested. Only in front of that pillar on the cold tile floor lie a motionless figure. That figure was once tall, dark and somewhat intimidating, but now lie on his back with a diamond dagger impaled in his chest.

Blumiere did not know whether to scream in anger or despair. He had lost love and trust for his father ever since that fateful day. It was true that his father had finally granted consent, but Blumiere still hadn't known what to feel towards the elder count afterwards.

He cautiously made his way forward to the prone figure and stooped down to get a closer look.

Blumiere gave a startled gasp. He recognized the dagger within his father's chest. It was gift that he made his father back when he was a teenager. Noir collected swords and daggers. The elder count admired them for their beauty and craftsmanship alone. His preferred methods of battle were magic and staffs. Noir taught his son many of the magic and staff techniques while he was young. The Tribe of Darkness excelled in dark and void magic. Blumiere reminisced at how the Dark Prognosticus greatly amplified his natural void magic and how its residual hold still boosted his magic.

He wasn't sure at how any of that would help him now.

He carefully cradled the man's head in his lap. Blumiere was hoping for a grumble or a groan, but he heard nothing.

He was frightened to feel for a pulse. Would he not find one? Did he hate his father as much as thought he did?

"I...I don't know if you can hear me, but I think I understand your motives now. All this time, you were afraid. Even from the start of it all, you were afraid. Afraid of seeing your only son get hurt."

Blumiere lightly caressed his father's face as he spoke. He wasn't sure if his words were going to make any coherent statement, but he needed them to be heard. Even if he was speaking to a ghost, he wished that his father would hear him somehow.

"Mother always said that love makes people do the most irrational things and she was right. Heh. She is always right. And you were right as well. Humans can and have done horrendous things to those who are different than them. How could I have forgotten what they've done to Gustav and his homeland? They invaded their homeland and forced them from their natural homes. They even commit heinous acts against different folk of their own kind. But despite that, I wanted to you see that she wasn't like the lot of them. Timpani was a diamond in the rough as the humans say."

"She and Ettle are a couple of diamonds in the rough. I only wished that you could've realized that a lot sooner. You tried to rid me of Timpani because you loved me. Your love for me led to fear. That fear made you believe that Timpani, a human, would eventually harm me."

"Do you realize that you've made the same mistake today that you did back then? You didn't trust me then to make a good decision in selecting a mate. And you didn't trust me now to hear you out in a civil manner. You were afraid that I'd shun you."

"You stubborn, drastic fool." Blumiere felt the tears bubbling and he failed in his attempts to hold them in.

"Ha ha. I have some nerve don't I, father? I never told Timpani this part of my tale yet, but I have to let this out somehow. Before I opened the Void, I searched far and wide for her. During my search, I acquired many people whom became my followers. One of whom that I should've questioned, but that's another story for another day. The very first I met was a bat whom I freed from a hunter's trap. She was in a dire state. I nursed her back to health and soon, she regained her strength and flew off. Or so I thought. A day later, a woman appeared at my campsite. She introduced herself as the bat that I had saved."

"Nastasia was her name and she had amazing powers of hypnosis. Well, I should get to the point now. Heh. You always hated long-winded stories. During my search for Timpani, I came across a man in the Linelands named Bestovius. I asked him about seeking aid in searching for lost loved ones. After a rant about how I had no worthy facial hair, Nastasia used her powers of hypnosis to persuade the information out of him. He revealed that someone named Merlon owned a Pixl named Tippi that had powers of observation, revelation, and information."

"I was shocked by hearing the name Tippi. It sounded so much like Timpani. Matter of fact, I used to call her 'Tippi' just to have fun and she hated it! Who knew that her memories were erased and she'd be reborn as a Pixl named Tippi? Well, back to the point at hand, I hadn't taken Bestovius' advice. It sounded ridiculous to me. So, I gave up searching. I consulted the Dark Prognosticus. I infiltrated the Mushroom Kingdom, kidnapped its Princess and the evil Koopa King. I hosted a fake wedding ceremony between the two to bring forth the Chaos Heart. The Chaos Heart opened the Void."

"I didn't realize that I was so close to Timpani! If I had of listened to Bestovius' advice, I could've found Timpani! The Pixl, Tippi, who was Timpani! I could've reignited her memories sooner. The Dark Prophecy could've been reversed before the heartache across the universe had spread to the point that it did."

"I'm your son alright. A stubborn, drastic fool. Love has made us do the most drastic and foolish things."

Blumiere's tears were cascading from his amber-red eyes and onto his father's face.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Outside the room, two women were standing just outside the door in complete silence.

Taire was elated to hear that her son had finally let the dam of negative emotions break. She wanted their family to be what it once was, but she feared that it would not come to pass. There was an emotional abyss of distrust between the father and his son and now this had to happen. If Noir was truly dead, her dream of a complete family was destroyed. She was not a spiritual person, but she wished and prayed to anyone that listened would make a miracle happen.

Timpani's heart ached for her husband. She and Noir had a moment of mutual understanding when he spoke to her that day. He had given them consent for marriage and she learned that they found common ground in parenting woes. Timpani's own parents had treated her as a burden to which Noir surprisingly found sympathy for her. He was not pleased in the fact that his son and daughter-in-law were not having children, but he thankfully did not press her any further. He mentioned having a talk with Blumiere about it, but she doubted her husband would give in about that subject either. Now it seemed as if there would be no further interactions of any kind. Timpani recognized that the elder count had changed at least somewhat, but it was clear that his guilt ran deeper than he initially let on.

"Timpani, dear, please meet them halfway. The medics do not know of these chambers. We kept them secret from all personnel as an extra precaution to hide the Dark Prognosticus."

Timpani gave a determined nod. The human girl's heart hurt for Taire. She knew from personal experience that the pain of losing a loved one is nearly unbearable.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Blumiere's silent, but heaving sobs throbbed in head giving him a migraine. However, he barely felt the physical pain. The emotional pain was taking a heavier toll.

The grieving young man felt that he imagined the raspy groan beneath him. It was nothing but his futile hopes playing tricks on his mind that his father was still alive.

It wasn't until he heard the noise again that he lifted his head and noticed a pained grimace on the man's once still face.

"You're...you're still alive?" Blumiere breathed. "Please hold on! I'll get help!"

The young count began to panic slightly as he realized a conundrum. How could he leave now? If he left, his father might die during the wait. The lower sanctum was a long distance from the main hall and even the infirmary.

His panicked mind began to settle as he heard Taire's heels clack against the tile floor. His loving mother embraced him from behind.

"Don't worry, my dear. I've already contacted the medics and sent Timpani to meet them halfway. They'll be here soon. I promise."

"I never wanted this to happen, mother! It's all my fault!" Blumiere slammed his fist against the floor.

"None of that matters now, son. Dwelling on the past will not heal the wounds between you. It will only aggravate things further. We should all hope for a brighter future. Let us all heal and bond." Taire soothed.

"Yes, you're right. As you always are." Blumiere let out a tiny laugh.

Taire stooped beside her fallen husband and caressed his cheek. She gently kissed him on the forehead.

"Isn't love a mess, dear?" Taire tried to alleviate her own building sadness.

After what seemed like hours, Timpani and the medics arrived in the somber chamber.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Blumiere and his family waited in the main hall for news of any kind. Timpani grasped Blumiere's anxious hands as he pulled apart a napkin out of nervousness.

"What if he doesn't make it through the surgery? What if he doesn't recover at all?"

"He will, dearest. Do you realize how worried I was when you battled Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Princess Peach? Seeing you broken and defeated like that made me fear that you'd die right before my eyes. You and your father have strong, stubborn will. But you both have something else too. You've bounced back because you have people who love you. And he'll bounce back because he'll realize that he is still loved by the one he thought he'd lost."

"I...never thought of it that way. When Mario and the others defeated me, I thought that my revival was solely due to the Pure Hearts' power. But I still failed to realize what drove that power. It's love. Mimi and the others didn't want to see me die and neither did you. Without benevolence and love, the evil and darkness in the world would consume everything. Those who don't have hope will give in to despair. That balance is imperative."

"Exactly." Timpani hugged her husband. "You've given your father a gleam of hope in his darkest moment. That's why he woke up. He heard you."

"And now it's up to him to fight to sustain that gleam of hope. I...I know he can do it."

 _'I feel like a mountain has been lifted off of my spirit. It's a relief to know that I don't truly hate my father.'_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Count Noir Fidele's consciousness slowly began returning to him. His last memories were of a crushing guilt that consumed him. All was dark and suffocating. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice. A voice that he was certain that he'd never hear again.

Instead of it admonishing him with deep hatred, it sounded as if it was confessing painful truths kept buried. The voice was his son's.

Noir Fidele fought the encroaching darkness. It wasn't too late after all as he'd feared.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A low groan was all that they needed to hear. The sound brought them unbound joy to their fearful souls.

Amber-red eyes opened at last.

"Noir!", "Father!", "You made it!" rang out at once against their better judgment.

"Too...loud..." Count Noir Fidele grumbled weakly, but he failed to hide the small smile on his face before he dozed into a blissful sleep. He'd be in a better mood once he awoke fully.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

A/N: Well, there you have it. I really hope everyone enjoyed it!

Please leave a review if you'd like. Constructive criticism is welcome! Thank you all for reading!


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